Extended Abstract
Background
Suicide remains premier challenge challenges in global mental health. Its rising prevalence—both worldwide and in Iran—underscores the urgent need for effective preventive and therapeutic strategies. Psychological determinants, particularly deficits in emotion regulation, are known to play a central role in the onset, maintenance, and escalation of suicidal ideation. Consequently, enhancing emotion regulation has become a primary target for interventions aimed at reducing suicide risk. Among emerging therapeutic approaches, self-compassion–based and spirituality-oriented interventions have shown promise in fostering emotional resilience and reducing maladaptive coping. However, limited comparative evidence exists regarding their relative effectiveness in individuals experiencing suicidal ideation. Accordingly, this study aimed to compare the impact of a self-compassion–based intervention and a spirituality-based intervention on emotion regulation among this population.
Methods
This study employed a quasi-experimental a pretest–posttest design with a control group and a four-month follow-up. The target population consisted of adults aged (18–44) residing in Sahand, Iran, identified as having suicidal ideation through initial screening. A sample of 45 participants—15 per group—was selected using purposive sampling and subsequently randomized into two intervention groups (self-compassion-based and spirituality-based) and a waitlist control group. Data were collected using the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSSI) and the short form of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-Short). The self-compassion intervention followed the Neff and Germer protocol, (eight sessions), while the spirituality-based intervention followed the Richards and Bergin model (twelve sessions). Data analysis included descriptive statistics and parametric tests. A mixed-design multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures (3×3) was used to examine changes across pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Assumptions of normality, homogeneity of variances, and sphericity were assessed, with Greenhouse–Geisser corrections applied where necessary. All analyses were conducted using SPSS v. 27.
Results
A total of 45 participants were analyzed (n = 15 per group). The mixed multivariate ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of group (F=6.085, P<0.001, η²=0.225), a significant main effect of time (F=53.402, P<0.001, η²=0.846), and a significant group-by-time interaction (F=17.898, P<0.001, η²=0.642) for composite emotion regulation outcomes. Univariate analyses showed that for adaptive emotion regulation, the effects of group (F=4.366, P=0.019, η²=0.172), time (F=18.884, P<0.001, η²=0.310), and the group-by-time interaction (F=14.133, P<0.001, η²=0.402) were all significant. For maladaptive emotion regulation, the effects of group (F=14.729, P<0.001, η²=0.412), time (F=123.693, P<0.001, η²=0.747), and group-by-time interaction (F=30.775, P<0.001, η²=0.594) were also significant. Bonferroni post-hoc comparisons indicated significant improvements from pretest to posttest and follow-up in both intervention groups. The self-compassion group showed a −9.933 reduction in maladaptive emotion regulation from pretest to posttest (P<0.001), while the spirituality-based group showed a similar reduction (P<0.001). No significant changes were observed in the control group (P>0.99). Between-group comparisons indicated that self-compassion significantly outperformed the control group in both adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation (maladaptive ΔM = −6.089, P<0.001). The spirituality-based intervention significantly improved maladaptive regulation compared to the control group (ΔM = 4.267, P=0.002), though its effect on adaptive regulation was not statistically significant (P=0.348). No significant differences were found between the two intervention groups (P>0.30).
Conclusion
The findings underscore the clinical value of self-compassion–based and spirituality-oriented interventions for individuals with suicidal ideation. Each approach contributed to enhancing emotion regulation skills and reducing the reliance on maladaptive emotional strategies. These outcomes suggest that integrating these psychological frameworks can enrich multidimensional treatment and prevention programs for at-risk populations.
Practical Implications of Research
The findings provide clinicians with evidence-based alternatives for treating suicidal ideation by targeting specific dimensions of emotion regulation. Self-compassion–based interventions appear particularly effective for enhancing adaptive strategies, while spirituality-based interventions are instrumental in reducing maladaptive strategies. The sustained efficacy observed at the four-month follow-up suggests these models foster long-term emotional resilience. Furthermore, these protocols offer scalable models for mental health intervention within primary healthcare settings.